Liz Goddard Politics Show Midlands

click here to view the Politics Show Midlands

On Politics Show Midlands, we examine recycling and investigate why some areas of the Midlands recycle tenfold more than others.

Central sites can provide better facilities for recycling

Protestors in Hinckley told their local council they were unhappy with their bin collection being reduced to once a fortnight.

The local council has cut down on how much rubbish they will collect from local households.

Instead of coming round with the bin wagon weekly, they are providing boxes for paper, glass and cans.

But one local mum has told Politics Show, it is not that straightforward.

Janet Oxford is keen to recycle but when she does, her rubbish still adds up to more than one wheelie bin every two weeks.

Some collect weekly

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council told Politics Show that they have targets to meet set by national government and cutting the amount of rubbish it collects is the only way to force people into recycling.

The bi-monthly collection is a feature in 14 parts of north west Leicestershire such as Coalville and Kegworth.

Tamworth in Staffordshire and Mansfield in north Nottinghamshire have the same policy but Birmingham still collects each week from residents.

Stoke Council issues a stark warning to it's householders.

On the council web site it states that enough rubbish was generated in the city to fill the Britannia Football stadium.

What can be done to encourage more recycling?

Is recycling more about the type of person we are, than the facilities we are given for recycling waste?

Recycling categories

The Birmingham based Consultancy firm MEL says councils can target their recycling facilities if they know the sort of rubbish being produced.

We can all be divided into different household groups:

• thriving households whose waste is rich in newspapers and magazines, use large quantities of non recyclable paper and are prolific green waste producers because of eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables
• expanding families, couples with young children living on new housing estates, do not produce a lot of waste apart from packaging and nappies but often they have no space for storing recyclables

Further, MEL claims that striving households are often the least affluent householders and the worst recyclers, as they have little waste to recycle.

Variations across the Midlands

Residents in Bromsgrove are only recycling 9% of their rubbish but that has almost doubled since 1998.

Residents of Daventry recycle a whopping 44% of their rubbish compared to 15% in 1998.

Friends of the Earth claim the government will not meet it's targets to recycle and compost at least 25% of household waste by 2005.

Friends of the Earth further claim the overall national rate increased by a mere 2% between 2002 and 2003.

The campaign group says that councils require more funding to meet government targets.

The government responded, saying it will work with local authorities to help them meet their targets, but if councils do not show a commitment to cutting their waste, they will intervene to make it happen.

Politics Show

So what are your views on this issue? Let Politics Show Midlands know what you think. Politics Show, Sunday 19 September, at 12.30pm.

click here to view the Politics Show Midlands

Join presenter Adrian Goldberg for The Politics Show on BBC One on Sundays at 12.30pm.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.